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AFRICA: More Dangerous to Be a Woman than a Soldier

African women who bear the brunt of the continent’s conflicts now demand to
play a defining role in peacekeeping.

Southern Africa – INTER PRESS SERVICE

Tags: Africa, Dangerous, More, Soldier, Than, Woman

Are faith-based schools divisive, discriminatory and dangerous?

A generous funding arrangement both state and federal, implemented under the Howard government in Australia has seen a growth in independent faith based schools, a rise that is nothing short of revolutionary.

However it is not exemplary academic records that are luring parents to enrol, it is strong religious values and low fees that are the key draw cards. But are these schools beneficial to society as a whole or are they serving a small minority whilst eroding social cohesion, and are the rest of us paying for it?

The devout claim that parents have a right to have their children educated in a manner that integrates their faith and spiritual development. Whilst I respect the right and freedom of belief and the right and freedom of education it has never been the responsibility of publicly funded schools to instil religious faith and nor should it ever be. What you teach your children in your home is your business. Australia is a secular society and as such public funds should support secular education. Surely the responsibility of publicly funded schools is to do what they do best – improve teaching and learning for all students.

Because religious schools tend to draw students from singular ethnic communities almost entirely, they are in fact contributing to religious-racial segregation. This is not good preparation for life in a wider multi-cultural society. It enhances social exclusion, fragmentation and disrupts social cohesion.

In addition to funding from a secular-based taxation system for faith-based schools that fragment communities, the curriculum in these schools is also under scrutinised. What are students being taught and who are the educators employed to teach them?

Independent schools have been granted exemption from the state curriculum. Under Victorian law, it is not compulsory for private schools to teach evolution, though it is recommended and asks schools to teach it and explain the link between natural selection and evolution. However, as it is not compulsory for independent schools to teach this, it is widely accepted that creationism is taught in science classes.

The Accelerated Christian Education (or ACE) curriculum shows that in a primary school science class a statement such as: “God made many kinds of fish. He made them on day five.” is commonplace, with a comprehension test going along with the statement asking the children on which day God made fish.
Often evolution is not taught until senior high school years. It is obvious that the delay creates an illusion of choice of belief on behalf of the individual when in almost every instance children’s beliefs are long formed by this age. This has serious implications for further study. Increasing numbers of students are entering tertiary biology classes with creationist viewpoints that are irreconcilable.

One alternative to creationism and evolution that has also crept into the teachings at independent schools is Intelligent Design. This is also taught in science class. It boggles the mind. Intelligent Design is not based on facts and does not use any scientific reasoning. Intelligent Design is creationism relabelled. It has no place in a science classroom.

The scientific method is a set of techniques for the investigation and acquisition of new knowledge of the natural world. Therefore to qualify, a scientific a theory must be:

Consistent
Parsimonious
Useful (describes and explains observed phenomena, and can be used predictively)
Empirically testable and falsifiable
Based on multiple observations, often in the form of controlled, repeated experiments
Correctable and dynamic (modified in the light of observations that do not support it)
Progressive (refines previous theories)
Provisional or tentative (is open to experimental checking, and does not assert certainty)

Intelligent Design is at best anti-science and at worst blatant scientific fraud. Creationism in any form is just bad science. If religion and its theory of creationism has a place then surely it is in religious and philosophy classes, the home and in church, but never in a science class.

Moving on from unethical science education lets explore what is being taught in regards to sex education and homosexuality. What is being taught, and its broader effect on society, has been largely ignored. Government schools should be and are expected to deal with issues of safe sex, same-sex attraction, sexual harassment, homophobia and discrimination.

In direct conflict with government efforts to provide valuable and appropriate sex education to students, abstinence is instilled. Accompanied by a discriminatory assertion that sexual attraction should be expressed within the context of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage.

How is disparity in teaching even possible? Independent faith based schools are exempt from anti-discrimination laws. The exemption includes laws governing anti-discrimination pertaining to gender, religion and sexual orientation. So in addition to scientific fraud and an irresponsible sex education devoid of anything useful these schools can pay women less than men for doing the same teaching duties, expel homosexual students, sack teachers found to have different religious beliefs or those admitting to be homosexual themselves.

This at first glance appears undemocratic and on further investigation downright illegal. With increasing numbers of students being taught at these schools it will only take a generation for the equality gained by women, lesbians and homosexual men to unravel. This poses a serious threat to society as a whole.

Education must be a place where ideas are explored. Not where belief systems are indoctrinated. How will these students cope at university, in the job market and wider social environments where they will face, often for the first time, pluralism in religion, culture, ethnicity and sexual preference?

Our environment is at crisis point. Oil is running out. Drought is devastating agriculture. More and more people are starving in the world. The next few decades are crucial. We need critically thinking children who use evidence based reasoning to solve these problems, not faith based decisions. To suggest as some faith based schools do, that pollution is an effect of sin will do little to counteract it and its effect on our environment and health. What it will do is reinforce prejudice and intolerance.

Stephen O’Doherty, CEO Christian Schools Australia claims “Addressing inequality is about looking to the needs of the whole child and their social context. This commitment goes to the core mission of Christian schooling.”

This directly contradicts the anti-science teachings, discriminatory practices and irresponsible sex education. It is clear that the autonomy of children choosing their own beliefs and values is neither encouraged nor respected.

Independent faith based schools conflict with secular state education. A secular society and education offers children the opportunity to engage with people from diverse backgrounds where barriers to social inclusion are removed. An individual’s religious, cultural, and socio-economic circumstance does not limit their interaction. This has wider implications not just for the individual but also for society and the world as a whole.

Tags: Dangerous, discriminatory, divisive, faithbased, Schools

Balloon Home Loans – Dangerous Mortgages to Be Wary Of

In today’s housing market, there are mortgage lenders for almost anyone in any circumstances. Balloon loans are one type of specialized loan, but they can be very dangerous if loan holders aren’t careful.

What Is a Balloon Loan?

Balloon loans don’t have anything to do with hot air or traveling around the world in 80 days. However, they can cause your financial future to go up in flames like a Hindenburg balloon if you don’t exercise supreme caution.

For a set number of years, the balloon loan has a constant, fixed interest rate. Regular fixed rate mortgages are more middle of the road, but balloon loans carry interest rates as low as adjustable rate mortgages. Balloon loans are even riskier than ARMs, however, because of their length.

It’s true that loan holders pay an extremely low fixed rate for a certain length of time, but it usually isn’t very long. Most loans have terms of 15 or 30 years, but the typical balloon loan matures in seven to ten years. When the term is up, the loan holder is forced to pay the rest of the loan in full. That means every penny you owe.

Let’s say that it’s the year 2005 and you find the perfect house. You love it, but can’t qualify for a mortgage. You want the house so badly that you scout out a lender to give you a balloon loan for $400,000 with a seven-year term. Fast forward to 2012. The term is up, and you’ve paid $50,000 on the loan, leaving $350,000 remaining. You now owe $350,000 and need to pay the full amount or surrender your home to foreclosure.

Of course everyone who takes out a balloon loan plans to get refinancing before the term of the loan is up, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. It’s also worth noting that we are now seeing record low interest rates, and it’s likely that refinancing several years from now will make your rate higher. Are you sure you can afford that?

Trying to play and win at the balloon loan game is taking a gamble with the future. You’re betting on low rates several years from now. But do you really want to be stuck in an awful financial situation if you bet wrong?

For additional information and resources on home loan mortgages, visit the #1 mortgages resource on the net: MortgageLoans-101.

Tags: Balloon, Dangerous, Home, Loans, Mortgages, Wary

Is Jewellery Business is a Dangerous Affair?

Jewellery business suffers not only from high gold prices and recession, but from a real physical danger. The story we are going to tell may be an extreme but many of the UK wholesales have been a subject to violent attacks and robberies.
Last week UK travelling diamond jeweller who is a regular visitor to EIRE and travels around the country for business deals with local jewellers has been brutally attacked in Dublin and robbed of €1m of precious stones and diamond jewellery

The jeweller was staying in his Travelodge Hotel room, Ballymun at around 12.15am on 30.01.10 when the three masked raiders, armed with a gun and a hammer forced their way in, battering him on the head with a hammer as he tackled one of them, and chased them into the street before they turned into Coultry Road.

Despite the effort, diamond jeweller failed to prevent the men from escaping and taking his suitcase containing diamonds and rubies and lost his life savings because the jewels were not insured.

Gardai believes he was the victim of opportunistic local criminals who became aware that he was carrying a valuable haul in his suitcase and kept watch on his movements until they established where he was staying. It is assumed that the raiders had no idea of the value of their haul and could now become the focus of more serious players in the crime world who are looking for a slice of the fortune, especially since the jewels are unmarked in any way, and therefore easier to “fence”, because they are not traceable.

Investigators are also tracing all known contacts of the jeweller since he arrived in Dublin to try and establish how the gang knew that the contents of the case were so valuable.

After Gardai arrived at the scene he was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment for lacerations, receiving around 50 stitches on his head. The doctor stated that if the injuries were a quarter of an inch left or right, the result would be an immediate death.

Last year a very similar story has happened in Manchester where opportunistic criminals attacked the jeweller in his car, breaking his door window, slicing his hand with a machete and disappearing with his stock.

When we are talking about ethical jewellery it is important to remember that bloody gold and diamonds are not only coming from conflict zones- they are also coming from UK and Ireland.

Not only the second hand but also the new jewellery as well can be of concern, as the stolen stock is flogged back into the UK wholesale market ending up in the UK and Ireland jewellery shops with or without conscious knowledge of the retailers. The situation is even more appalling during this recession when an exceptionally high gold price and the greed drive some people to commit the crime.

If we are to tackle the issue of bloody diamonds and gold we should start at home.

Visit www.GoldandSilverJewelleryShop.com for ethically sourced jewellery.

Tags: affair, Business, Dangerous, Jewellery

Is Jewellery Business is a Dangerous Affair?

Jewellery business suffers not only from high gold prices and recession, but from a real physical danger. The story we are going to tell may be an extreme but many of the UK wholesales have been a subject to violent attacks and robberies.
Last week UK travelling diamond jeweller who is a regular visitor to EIRE and travels around the country for business deals with local jewellers has been brutally attacked in Dublin and robbed of €1m of precious stones and diamond jewellery

The jeweller was staying in his Travelodge Hotel room, Ballymun at around 12.15am on 30.01.10 when the three masked raiders, armed with a gun and a hammer forced their way in, battering him on the head with a hammer as he tackled one of them, and chased them into the street before they turned into Coultry Road.

Despite the effort, diamond jeweller failed to prevent the men from escaping and taking his suitcase containing diamonds and rubies and lost his life savings because the jewels were not insured.

Gardai believes he was the victim of opportunistic local criminals who became aware that he was carrying a valuable haul in his suitcase and kept watch on his movements until they established where he was staying. It is assumed that the raiders had no idea of the value of their haul and could now become the focus of more serious players in the crime world who are looking for a slice of the fortune, especially since the jewels are unmarked in any way, and therefore easier to “fence”, because they are not traceable.

Investigators are also tracing all known contacts of the jeweller since he arrived in Dublin to try and establish how the gang knew that the contents of the case were so valuable.

After Gardai arrived at the scene he was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment for lacerations, receiving around 50 stitches on his head. The doctor stated that if the injuries were a quarter of an inch left or right, the result would be an immediate death.

Last year a very similar story has happened in Manchester where opportunistic criminals attacked the jeweller in his car, breaking his door window, slicing his hand with a machete and disappearing with his stock.

When we are talking about ethical jewellery it is important to remember that bloody gold and diamonds are not only coming from conflict zones- they are also coming from UK and Ireland.

Not only the second hand but also the new jewellery as well can be of concern, as the stolen stock is flogged back into the UK wholesale market ending up in the UK and Ireland jewellery shops with or without conscious knowledge of the retailers. The situation is even more appalling during this recession when an exceptionally high gold price and the greed drive some people to commit the crime.

If we are to tackle the issue of bloody diamonds and gold we should start at home.

Visit www.GoldandSilverJewelleryShop.com for ethically sourced jewellery.

Tags: affair, Business, Dangerous, Jewellery

Is Jewellery Business is a Dangerous Affair?

Jewellery business suffers not only from high gold prices and recession, but from a real physical danger. The story we are going to tell may be an extreme but many of the UK wholesales have been a subject to violent attacks and robberies.
Last week UK travelling diamond jeweller who is a regular visitor to EIRE and travels around the country for business deals with local jewellers has been brutally attacked in Dublin and robbed of €1m of precious stones and diamond jewellery

The jeweller was staying in his Travelodge Hotel room, Ballymun at around 12.15am on 30.01.10 when the three masked raiders, armed with a gun and a hammer forced their way in, battering him on the head with a hammer as he tackled one of them, and chased them into the street before they turned into Coultry Road.

Despite the effort, diamond jeweller failed to prevent the men from escaping and taking his suitcase containing diamonds and rubies and lost his life savings because the jewels were not insured.

Gardai believes he was the victim of opportunistic local criminals who became aware that he was carrying a valuable haul in his suitcase and kept watch on his movements until they established where he was staying. It is assumed that the raiders had no idea of the value of their haul and could now become the focus of more serious players in the crime world who are looking for a slice of the fortune, especially since the jewels are unmarked in any way, and therefore easier to “fence”, because they are not traceable.

Investigators are also tracing all known contacts of the jeweller since he arrived in Dublin to try and establish how the gang knew that the contents of the case were so valuable.

After Gardai arrived at the scene he was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment for lacerations, receiving around 50 stitches on his head. The doctor stated that if the injuries were a quarter of an inch left or right, the result would be an immediate death.

Last year a very similar story has happened in Manchester where opportunistic criminals attacked the jeweller in his car, breaking his door window, slicing his hand with a machete and disappearing with his stock.

When we are talking about ethical jewellery it is important to remember that bloody gold and diamonds are not only coming from conflict zones- they are also coming from UK and Ireland.

Not only the second hand but also the new jewellery as well can be of concern, as the stolen stock is flogged back into the UK wholesale market ending up in the UK and Ireland jewellery shops with or without conscious knowledge of the retailers. The situation is even more appalling during this recession when an exceptionally high gold price and the greed drive some people to commit the crime.

If we are to tackle the issue of bloody diamonds and gold we should start at home.

Visit www.GoldandSilverJewelleryShop.com for ethically sourced jewellery.

Tags: affair, Business, Dangerous, Jewellery

Is Jewellery Business is a Dangerous Affair?

Jewellery business suffers not only from high gold prices and recession, but from a real physical danger. The story we are going to tell may be an extreme but many of the UK wholesales have been a subject to violent attacks and robberies.
Last week UK travelling diamond jeweller who is a regular visitor to EIRE and travels around the country for business deals with local jewellers has been brutally attacked in Dublin and robbed of €1m of precious stones and diamond jewellery

The jeweller was staying in his Travelodge Hotel room, Ballymun at around 12.15am on 30.01.10 when the three masked raiders, armed with a gun and a hammer forced their way in, battering him on the head with a hammer as he tackled one of them, and chased them into the street before they turned into Coultry Road.

Despite the effort, diamond jeweller failed to prevent the men from escaping and taking his suitcase containing diamonds and rubies and lost his life savings because the jewels were not insured.

Gardai believes he was the victim of opportunistic local criminals who became aware that he was carrying a valuable haul in his suitcase and kept watch on his movements until they established where he was staying. It is assumed that the raiders had no idea of the value of their haul and could now become the focus of more serious players in the crime world who are looking for a slice of the fortune, especially since the jewels are unmarked in any way, and therefore easier to “fence”, because they are not traceable.

Investigators are also tracing all known contacts of the jeweller since he arrived in Dublin to try and establish how the gang knew that the contents of the case were so valuable.

After Gardai arrived at the scene he was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment for lacerations, receiving around 50 stitches on his head. The doctor stated that if the injuries were a quarter of an inch left or right, the result would be an immediate death.

Last year a very similar story has happened in Manchester where opportunistic criminals attacked the jeweller in his car, breaking his door window, slicing his hand with a machete and disappearing with his stock.

When we are talking about ethical jewellery it is important to remember that bloody gold and diamonds are not only coming from conflict zones- they are also coming from UK and Ireland.

Not only the second hand but also the new jewellery as well can be of concern, as the stolen stock is flogged back into the UK wholesale market ending up in the UK and Ireland jewellery shops with or without conscious knowledge of the retailers. The situation is even more appalling during this recession when an exceptionally high gold price and the greed drive some people to commit the crime.

If we are to tackle the issue of bloody diamonds and gold we should start at home.

Visit www.GoldandSilverJewelleryShop.com for ethically sourced jewellery.

Tags: affair, Business, Dangerous, Jewellery

Are Hgh Releasers Dangerous?

The human body, through the pituitary gland, is able to make its own natural growth hormone, which is necessary for maintaining overall health. Due to inevitable aging and several health conditions, production of such a hormone is lowered, altered, or completely halted. This is the reason why human growth hormone (HGH) releasers are important. These supplements could help bring back production of such hormone.

HGH releasers are very popular among people who want to effectively slow down the normal aging symptoms. Unsurprisingly, there are many of such individuals. In some cases, the supplements are also used to treat children with short stature problems. HGH releasers could also help promote effective weight loss, increase muscle mass, and attain high level of energy. With the growing popularity of HGH releasers, skeptics and critics raise issues about possible side effects.

Most HGH releasers are taken orally. Such supplements usually have proper and lower dosages, making them totally free from common and unlikely side effects. People who are considering taking the products need not be anxious about possible adverse effects of doing so. In general, HGH releasers are effective but are subtly formulated compared to popular synthetic HGH stimulators in injection form.

A typical HGH releaser works differently compared to a usual steroid. In comparison, steroids use synthetic hormones whereas HGH releasers boost hormones the natural way. Many experts underline the fact that HGH releasers generate a complete natural process that is effective in actually preventing adverse, unlikely, and dangerous side effects.

However, in several clinical trials, the use of several brands of HGH releasers bring about some simple side effects, which do not in any way bring about serious issues. One particular study involving chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers identify two possible side effects. First, some of the participants experienced joint and muscle pains especially during the initial stage of HGH releasers therapy. This side effect lasted just several hours and did not recur on the entire intake of the supplement.

Second, a small number of the study’s participants have experienced mild edema. It is a condition wherein both legs swell due to accumulation of excess fluids, which experts assert is not actually caused by the intake of HGH releasers. Again, the symptom tended to go away in just a few hours after initial intake. Most people who take HGH releasers regularly do not experience or notice such effects.

Overall, HGH releasers do not bring about serious and adverse side effects. That is why they are considered safe. However, people are advised against possibly abusing the supplement. In most cases, prescriptions and opinions of doctors and medical experts are recommended before actual intake of the supplement, though they are not necessary. This is to help counter and prevent any unlikely effect of taking or using the product. You would not experience headaches, tummy aches, dizziness, or sleepiness upon taking HGH releasers.

What you could expect are the likely and promising good effects or benefits the products could bring about. HGH releasers are totally safe and effective

Tags: Dangerous, Releasers